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First Geneva Convention
The First Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field, held on 22 August 1864, is the first of four of the . It defines "the basis on which rest the rules of international law for the protection of the victims of armed conflicts." After the first treaty was adopted in 1864, it was significantly revised and replaced in 1906, 1929, and finally 1949. It is inextricably linked to the , which is both the instigator for the inception and enforcer of the articles in these conventions. History }} The 1864 Geneva Convention was instituted at a critical period in European political and military history. Elsewhere, the had been raging since 1861 (starting with the ), and would ultimately claim between 750,000–900,000 lives. Between the fall of the first at the in 1815 and the rise of his in the , the powers had maintained peace in western Europe. Yet, with the 1853–1856 , war had returned to Europe, and while those troubles were "in a distant and inaccessible region" northern Italy was "so accessible from all parts of western Europe that it instantly filled with curious observers;" while the bloodshed was not excessive the sight of it was unfamiliar and shocking. Despite its intent of ameliorating the ravages of war, the inception of the 1864 Geneva Convention inaugurated "a renewal of military activity on a large scale, to which the people of western Europe…had not been accustomed since the first Napoleon had been eliminated." The movement for an international set of laws governing the treatment and care for the wounded and began when relief activist witnessed the in 1859, fought between French- and armies in Northern Italy. The subsequent suffering of 40,000 wounded soldiers left on the field due to lack of facilities, personnel, and truces to give them medical aid moved Dunant into action. Upon return to , Dunant published his account Un Souvenir de Solferino. He urged the calling together of an international conference and soon co-founded the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1863. The (ICRC), while recognising that it is "primarily the duty and responsibility of a nation to safeguard the health and physical well-being of its own people", knew there would always, especially in times of war, be a "need for voluntary agencies to supplement…the official agencies charged with these responsibilities in every country." To ensure that its mission was widely accepted, it required a body of rules to govern its own activities and those of the involved belligerent parties. Only one year later, the Swiss government invited the governments of all European countries, as well as the United States, Brazil, and Mexico, to attend an official diplomatic conference. Sixteen countries sent a total of twenty-six delegates to Geneva. The meeting was presided over by General . Signed at the Alhambra room at Geneva's Hotel de Ville (city hall) on 22 August 1864, the conference adopted the first "for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field". Representatives of 12 states and kingdoms signed the convention: *Swiss Confederation *Grand Duchy of Baden *Kingdom of Belgium *Kingdom of Denmark *Second French Empire *Grand Duchy of Hesse *Kingdom of Italy *Kingdom of the Netherlands *Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves *Kingdom of Prussia *Spain *Kingdom of Württemberg signed in December. It "derived its obligatory force from the implied consent of the states which accepted and applied them in the conduct of their military operations." Despite its basic mandates, listed below, it was successful in effecting significant and rapid reforms. This first effort provided only for: # the immunity from capture and destruction of all establishments for the treatment of wounded and sick soldiers, # the impartial reception and treatment of all combatants, # the protection of civilians providing aid to the wounded, and # the recognition of the Red Cross symbol as a means of identifying persons and equipment covered by the agreement. Due to significant ambiguities in the articles with certain terms and concepts and even more so to the rapidly developing nature of war and military technology, the original articles had to be revised and expanded, largely at the Second Geneva Conference in 1906 and which extended the articles to . The 1906 version was when minor modifications were made to it. It was again updated and replaced by the 1949 version, better known as the Final Act of Geneva Conference, 1949. However, as , Director of the International Committee of the Red Cross, noted in 1951, "the law, however, always lags behind charity; it is tardy in conforming with life's realities and the needs of humankind", as such it is the duty of the Red Cross "to assist in the widening the scope of law, on the assumption that…law will retain its value", principally through the revision and expansion of these basic principles of the original Geneva Convention. Summary of provisions The original ten articles of the 1864 treaty have been expanded to the current 64 articles. This lengthy treaty protects soldiers that are (out of the battle due to sickness or injury), as well as medical and religious personnel, and civilians in the zone of battle. Among its principal provisions: * Article 12 mandates that wounded and sick soldiers who are out of the battle should be humanely treated, and in particular should not be killed, injured, tortured, or subjected to biological experimentation. This article is the keystone of the treaty, and defines the principles from which most of the treaty is derived, including the obligation to respect medical units and establishments (Chapter III), the personnel entrusted with the care of the wounded (Chapter IV), buildings and material (Chapter V), medical transports (Chapter VI), and the (Chapter VII). * Article 15 mandates that wounded and sick soldiers should be collected, cared for, and protected, though they may also become prisoners of war. * Article 16 mandates that parties to the conflict should record the identity of the dead and wounded, and transmit this information to the opposing party. * Article 9 allows the "or any other impartial humanitarian organization" to provide protection and relief of wounded and sick soldiers, as well as medical and religious personnel. For a detailed discussion of each article of the treaty, see the original text and the commentary. There are currently 196 countries party to the 1949 , including this first treaty but also including the other three. References Category:Civilization